ridderstrom



March s, 1932.

A. R, RlDDERs'TRoM FEEDING MEQHANISM Original Filed June 24, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet Mafch 8, 1932.

A. R. RiDDERsTRoM 1,848,841

FEEDING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 24, 1921 Zoff/zeg Patented Mar. 8, v.1932

ANPBEW n nrnnnnsrnoivn ou' nAnAnnj MASSACHUSETTS., AssIGnoRa ny MESNAEQA'S.: QQS'IGNMKENTSMDO' NIjrED SHOE MACHINERY, oouronnrron, oF PATERSON, innwrfEnDrNe irncrrirmsrr The presenti invention. relates more par-- A tiQularflyto;eedingmechansm'sg The pres-Y limarginsf ofv the upper.v

' ion'bysliortenxfeedstrokes.

enti applicationis ai division l of application Seria1No.-,480,-l7.7f, filed June 245.1921", which "matured into LettersPatent No. 15,740,4097 vDecember 17, 1929.

.finishing the; edges. of *boot` andpshoe uppersny it; is --usnal to1 fold,` the; margin of y the uppenoi/ en uponritselor to foldovler'upon thefmarginga binding strip` thatl has previous-,

An object ofthe; present nv'entionr there; fone, isto provide, in ainachi'nehawingjafeedY mechanism'. anV improved,"automaticallyfactf' ingV mechanism. forrvarying the feed strokes. The' range oi rthe feed strokes mayfbevaried. automaticallyffron Zerofto arinaximurn. 1 The;

. zero or substantially zero range is.part-iou-;

lanL-y valuable at sharp,..convex curves, for the stoolt is not-then fed forward-,Vat alla-f..

or islfedbutvery little,.-.but,is simplyturned irl-its plane. by the operator vwhile theother operating: instrumentalitiesl perform the foldingz- .I l -Y Y W ith thislandsotherobjects in'view, thein. Vention consists" oflthe improved machin@ a preferred' embodiment of which is hereinafter:

descuibed, illustrated inthe'. accompanying 1 drawings, and'deinedin'theappendedclainis:

Inithe drawings, F ig; Lis a viewin eleva?y 1 tion', partly in longitudinal section.' upon a reduced scale, off-a machinefconstjructed ac-4 conding to a preferredi embodimentotthe present inventiongfFig. 2 isfaperspective View illustrating the. fol-ding actionata sharp c011-A vexfcunve g Fig;,-.3i is la.perspectiveview, with 1 serialNofieorwfamviaed 'and this appiieationr'iea ectober 1e;- Y

parts ,in sect-ion, and broken' away of themain.-

driving-shaft andits speed-and-feed-control i linginechanisms ;-'Figs. 4-7 5 ando-'are sectionsl taken' substantially` upon the lines-4-4'5-1-f.5l and 6,-6,.respectively, of Fig. '3, looking; in

the jdirectionot the arrows; Fig. Tis a trans the line Tf-Tof Fig; 8,l looking-inthe direcf7 tionof the arrows'g'andFig, S-isaflongitudipal; Vertical sectionl @fthe .forward pari; 0f Ytheinachine'.` Y l Y y 'Verse vertical section-takensubstantially upon The invention is illustrated in the acconi- I panyingj drawings inr connection-with ayina chine for folding' a binding strip-2 F;ig.j2^, .aroimdv the edge-4" of a-sheet of leather.' or

other material 6, such-as a bootfor shoe upper.,

Agn edgeg8 of-thefbinding strip-is.stitched-iat.jA

12th aface lOloftheshoe upper; along the tend-iaty ans anglel to each other fronithe' securedetogetheredges 4. and'8. It willv beVV understood that the invention is equallylap plioableV to'cother machines than: folding; ma-

chines.

f V'The lshoe'npper initially.Placed inthe;-v 1 machine upon: a-.platforrn o r; support 24. with;

theffaoe- 10 of the upper inzcontat withithe sup-port, `Angend ofthe;free.orunsegunedv y edge 26 ofthe strip isinitially.moved;across.` and; aroulldfA the seouredftogether edges4g and' a plow 32 y,that stands up Vintegrally from. a f

platel V34., The machine being set. intogoperaeg; tion,jsuccessive portions of the-strip; 2..:r'1jea1gi` the stitches l2jarev inter-Inittentlylwipedtightf lyacrossf'the secured-together edges 4 and; 8-,

l. or away frornthe stitcheslQ, bythecoin-l binedfactionota wiper 38 (Fig. 2); and a retainer 246:. that presses down heavily at this tinienpon `the upper directly oppositetothe no i point of action of. the wiper.` c The suocessire--.:

ly, wiped, portions. are initiallyA intermittent lyfolded around the securedftogether edges tionsare thenadvanced by feedingl mechanism comprisingfthe feed ,pointy and, aY coopf,y eratingffeed block. 4L to ai combined folder and folds presserv 42 (Fig. ,2) The feed 1.blocln 41fis carried. Yintegrallyv with; theplowg upon the plate 34. rThe fold presser 42 folds the plow-folded portions of the strip further and presses them down against the other face 16 of the sheet, as shownA in Fig. 2.

The feeding mechanism is driven by a driving shaft 66, that is horizontally journaled in bearings of the machine frame. The drivingshaft is provided with a hand-and-bal ance'wheel 68, Figs. 1 and 8, having a clutch face that is adapted to be frictionally engaged by a clutch face 72 of a loose driving cone pulley 74. The cone pulley is normally separated from the hand-and-balance wheel by a spring 76, but may be actuated toward the latter, to effect frictional engagement of the clutch faces, by a bell-crank lever 78 pivoted at 80 and operable through a treadle or other manually controlled device (not shown) that is connected to the bellcrank lever by a link 82. According as the treadle is depressed more or less, the clutch faceswill engage more or less firmly, thus providing for varying the speed of rotation of the driving shaft 66. Upon the release of the treadle, Vthe bell-crank lever will be returned to its illustrated, ineffective position by a compression spring 84 mounted upon a rod 86 that is pivotally mounted at its lower end in an abutment 88. The spring 76 will at the same time separate the clutch faces 70 and 72, and agbrake 90, that is pivoted at 91 tothe frame of the machine, will be acted upon'at 198 by an adjustable member 92 that is carried by the bell-crank lever to stop the rotative movement of the handand-balance wheel 68 and, therefore, of the driving shaft 66.

The plate 34, that carries the feed block 41 andthe plow 32, ismounted upon a holder 93 that is secured, as by a set screw, to a rocking support 94. The rocking support is pivotally mounted about a rod 96that is secured to the frame of the machine by a screw 98. The rocking support 94 is provided with a diagonally disposed cylindrical opening 100, Figs. 7 and 8, within which is slidingly mounted a diagonally cylindrical block 102 the upper flat facek of which is substantially horizontal, as shown at 104. The angle of inclinationof the opening 100 is preferablyV in the neighborhood of thirty degrees. The cylindrical block 102 is adapted toV be actuated by an eccentric or crank pin 106 of the driving shaft 66. The eccentric or crank pin is' rotatably mounted in the blocli 102 and eX-V tends through an opening 108 of the rocking support 94. Rotative movement of the shaft 66 will be converted by the eccentric into combined sliding and oscillating or rotative movement ofthe block 102 and this, in turn, will effect a rocking movement of the rocking support about the rod 96. I

The feed point 30 is pivotally mounted at 110 upon the rocking support 94 so as to be rocked therewith and with the lower feed The body portion 118 is slotted, as shown in` ,Figi 7, and a screw post 120 is adjustably' clamped between the side walls of the slot'by a screw 122, Fig/8. The upper face 104v of the block `102 is adapted to engage the post 120, thereby to raise the feed point 30 in opposition to ythe` pressure of the spring 112..v

The tension of the vspring 112 upon the body portion 118 of the feed point may be adjusted by a clamp screw 124, Fig. 1, having a shoulder 126-for engaging the spring. In

order to prevent lateral movement of the spring 112, it is mounted in alongitudinal slot 128, Fig. 1, provided in the upper surface of the machine frame.

As the driving shaft 66 is rotated, the rocking support 94 is rocked from right to left and from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 7, imparting an oscillating movement to the lower feed block 41 and the upper feed point 30 which are carried thereby. During vthe leftto-right movement, the feed point 30 will be separated from the feed block 41 by the action of the cylindrical block 102, which then occupies its upper position. During the right-to-left movement, the block '102 will lie in the lower portions of the cylindrical opening 100, and the feed point will be spring-pressed Vinto engagement with the feed block, which will thus advance to the fold presser the upper clamped therebetween.

During the backward movement of the feed elements and the plow from the fold presser towards the wiper, the feed point first rises from the full-line position to the dottedline position of Fig. 8. Then, towards the end of the backward movement, it descends again to the full-line position. A separator 143 is provided just in frontv of the plow to maintain the strip separated from the raw edges 4 and'8. i f

Atsharply curved places in the stock, the machine should be slowed down. This may be effected bypressing the clutch faces 70 andv 72, Fig. -1, a little less tightly together by suitable manipulation of the treadle rod 82. According to the resent invention, slowing down the 'speed o the machine automatically reduces the rate of feeding movement, so that curved parts of the material are fed through the machine not only at less speed, but by shorter feed strokes, as well. This desired result is brought about, Yin the illus* trative 1nachine,by automatically adjusting Vmoveliieilt, as the casemay be. The frock ing support may, indeed, bevmaintainedabsolutely `stationary, preventing any' feed movement at all, which ;is 1 very desirable'r when Very sharpcOnCave or convex-portions of the .stock arefencountered. At such placesthe Wiper, the fold presser and the .othery operating instrumentalities continue to operf` ate -wh-ile no 'feeding at, all takes place,'thel operatori simply. turningthe stock in its plane to permit;` successive portions of the.`v margin-'to become successively folded.v The operation 4willbe understood more particu# larlyfromFig. 2, wherethe edge 26; ofgthe binding strip; is shown crowded alittle, by minute stages, at448.=` Thecrowdingisof so' minuteI a character, that, for practical purposes; the edge .fold is perfectly-smooth,

` unmar'red vby any wrinkles or bunching whati dotted liens, at 460. In Whatever manner"V 4-5= the structure is manufactured,'it will be clear soever. f Feed control of' this characterisbelieved to be produced herein for the first time, and 'is 'considered t0 be of far greater application than to binding-strip-folding machines inparticular, or shoe machines in general. The specific construction employed will now be described.

The driving shaft 66 is shown more particularly Ain Fig. 3, provided with a longitudinal eccentric bearing 450 fo-r a second shaft 452 upon the'forward end 454 of which theV eccentric or crank stern 1.06 is carried. The bearing 450 may be produced by longitudinally drilling through the shaft 66; or, preferably, the shaft 66 may be made hollow to startwith and bushings 456 plugged into'its ends. The bushingsV are eccentrically bored to provide the bearing 450. The space 458, between the bushings, may be utilized as an oil chamber. According. to the actual con struction illustrated, but one bushing`456 is employed, at the rearl end of the shaft, the

forward end being shown solid. The forward wall of the oil chamber 458 is-indicated,rin

that, by rotatably adjusting the shaft 452 within the bearing 450, the eccentric or'crank Y 'stem l06`may be made to assume different ec- 59; justed nearer to or farther from the center centric positions upon the forward end ofthe shaft 66. According as the crank stem is adof the shaft, the feed steps will be shortened or lengthened. If the crank stern is caused toV assume a position exact-ly central vof the shaft, as illustrated in Fig. 2, it will remain exactly 1i andthe segmental gears 462 and 464 aren- ,tegral with armsk thatareipvoted at 470 to the hand-and-balanceWheel 68,.v v As thel machine speeds up,`tl1e governor weights are' centrifugally forced outward pivotally labout theipivotal points 470, causing the'gears 464 and 462 toy rotate. thevshaft 452-fwithinits bearings 450. As the machine slows down,

very stiff springs V4712, each attached; at one end 474ltothe armsl468, and at-the other end 47,6 to a stationary part of the balance wheel 68, dra-w thefgovernorweights back towardnormal position, correspondingly ro-V tatably adjusting the shaft 452'. Any inter-l mediate rate of feed between maximumand minimum Vvalues may lbe yobtained by speedingthemachine 'upfmore or fless,jas desired,

the variable centrifugal force Aacting juponY the governor weights 466 atdifferentl speeds Y being always balanced bythe variabletension onthe springs 472 corresponding' .tou-,Ose speeds,

, l Toincrease or decrease thenormal-tension,

on the springs, theen'ds 476aresecured, not. Y

directly to the'hand-andfbalance.-wheel,but. 'to diametrically `opposed points; of aspring collar4fl8that is'split at480 ,to facilitate itsV mounting Y within fanjannular groovev 482;.Y of thehand-'andfbalance lvs'flieel 68; VvThe colla-1,` 478 lis provided with ygearteeth: 484 that mesh with .the` teeth of a pinion486that is secured, as by means offa pin `488, to ap-lungerV 490;v

The plunger490is mounted Within a recess- 492 inthe w-eb 494 of the hand-and-balance 'Wheel 68". ami-is. vmaintained in the outward position illustrated yin, Fig., 5 by a'coilfcom-Q pressionspring 496.-l The pinion-486 isp-ro: vided with ratchet! teethVV 498 thatflengage ratchet teeth `500-upon the inner face: cfa; block'502that -is set in position within arecess- 504 upon theperiphery of the hand-and! wY i balance wheel AnThe v plunger 496 :extends through an openingfof the block 502l-{and 'l lits head is vslotted at 508 toreceiveascrew Y l driver. When :it is desired to adj-ust the nor'- mal tension of the spring$472fa screwl driverA is'inserted in thefslot,566,thefplunger'490. i

is. forced inward pressingy in j on the screw driver, in opposition to theforce of the spring 496,'thereby disengagingthe ratchet teeth 498 fromgthe .ratchet teeth50'0'. The screw driver is then turned'fto rotat'ethe pinion 486,

inone direction, or the springs 472' are per?,v i

mitted to effect rotation of the pinionin the opposite direction'.` "Rotationfof the 'inion' causes rotation ofV the split collar 478'1n2onej' or the other direction. Releasing the's'crew` driverl results@ in; ythe plungerfbec'oming spring-forced back into place, to' ica-use the ratchet teeth 498 and '506 to vengage once more, locking-the. split collar-'in adjustedr position.

Thel'imits of the rate -offeedmayad-v justecl-byrslidably adjustable stops- 516 and 5112i f( Fig. the former ladapted en. 'gaged by j one z ofi the governor weights to limit theoutward movement-ofthegovernor,

the bearing collar 526;

j illustrative purposes only,`and that the invenand the `latter by the other governorl weight 466 to limit its inward movement; By adjusting the stop `510, the maximum'rate of feed may be adjusted; by adjusting the'stop 512, the minimum rate' of feed may be controlled within any desired limits between zero and-any other desired minimum value. A The stops 510` and 512 'may be adjusted byrotating screw-threaded rods 514 that are threaded through screw-threaded openings 516 -of the stops. The screw-threaded rods 514 are mounted in bearings'518 and 520; Collars 521 prevent longitudinal'movement ofthe rods514.V f l i` As will'A be understood Vfrom Figs. 1 and 3,l the gear 462 is held against the bushing 456 by al button522 that is screwed into the forward end'of a short shaft 524 mounted in For purposesof convenience in` assembly, the bushing 456 and the shaft 524 are provided with annular flanges 528 and A530,' respectively, that are secured y to each other and to the hand-and-balance wheel by screws 532. l

Although the invention has been described above in connection with a special machine disclosed in the above-identified Letters Patent, it will be understood that thisis forl tion is of broader scope, unlimited except insofar as limitationpmay be specifically imposed in the appended'claims. Y

Vhatis claimedas new is:

1.' A machine of the class described having,in combination, adriving shaft having an eccentric, feedingmeans connected to the eccentric so as to be' driven thereby., means for driving the shaft at varying speeds, at

will, and a governor-automatically'controlled in accordance with the speed of the driving shaft'for varying the position of the eccentric upon the shaft to lvary-'the rate of feed ofthe feeding means.

' 2. A machine of the class described having, in combination, arockingsupport having a diagonally disposed opening, a diagonally disposed block slidingly mounted in the opening, a driving shaft having an eccentrically disposed opening, Va shaft mounted in the shaft opening having an eccentric connected with the block for slidingly drivingV the block in the diagonally disposed opening, and means controlled in accordance with the speed of. operation of the driving shaft for adjusting the position of the second-named shaft withinthe opening to vary the driving action of thel eccentric. j,

. 3. A machine of the cla-ss described having, in combination, a `driving shaft having a longitudinal eccentric opening constituting a-nzoil chamber, a shaft longitudinally mounted in the opening having an eccentric, and a. governor controlled in accordance withthe speed of the drivingshaft having means for eccentric for simultaneously actuating thel block inthe opening Vand rocking the support, means for actuating the'driving member at variable speeds, and means controlled in accordance with the speed of actuation of the driving member for varying the degree of-rocking movement ofthe support.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 16th day of October,

ANDREW R. RIDDERSTROM. 

